


My Simmering Sitter

by ElectricSnowman



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-07 17:38:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7723660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricSnowman/pseuds/ElectricSnowman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In need of a babysitter while everyone else is busy, Sans drops off Frisk at Alphys and Undyne's house, only to find out they're not home. However, an awkward situation takes place when they discover the presence of the only other occupant—the Mad Dummy. Now, Mad Dummy is torn between complying to this unexpected turn of events or having a bad time...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Patched-Up Attitude

**Author's Note:**

> Some parts of this will hint to my story "Just a Punching Bag", which tells how Undyne and Mad Dummy met.
> 
> Also, a comic version of this story is currently in the works: http://fav.me/dbb517n

Today was the rare occasion in which most of Frisk's guardians were too busy to look after them for the day. Toriel was grading homework at the school, Papyrus was still working on trying to get his license (he also took Flowey with him, much to the flower's displeasure), and Asgore was currently in some sort of meeting. Napstablook and Mettaton were on tour at the moment, so they were out of the picture as well.

The only one who wasn't busy right at the moment was Sans. He usually worked at a hot dog stand similar to the one back underground, but since there were a lot more people on the surface, business was a lot higher.

Sans strolled with Frisk down the sidewalk, heading over to Alphys and Undyne's house.

“Ooh! Can we take one of your shortcuts?” the child grabbed his arm, and he chuckled.

**“nah, i think we've taken enough of those today. it's a beautiful day outside...why not take the time to enjoy it?”**

Frisk shook their head in mock shame. “Too lazy to even take a _shortcut...”_

 **“hey, like my bro says...truly I _am_ a master.”** They both laughed, and it didn't take long before they approached the pathway leading to the house.

“Hey, can you save me a hotdog once you're done with work?” Frisk asked.

 **“of course, kid.”** Sans winked. **“but seriously...one of these days you need to control your obsession with hot animals.”**

Frisk giggled as he walked up to the door. After he knocked, however, the child began to sense that something was off. All the lights seemed to be out inside the house, and not a single sound was heard. Normally, they could hear Undyne from even a block away. “Sans?”

Sans's grin lessened a bit. **“hm...just a sec, kiddo.”** He immediately disappeared, and a few seconds later, the front door opened.

Frisk turned around and saw him at the doorway. “They're not home?”

 **“definitely not. Undyne said she'd kill me if i ever did that again.”** Sans scratched his head. **“that's really weird...they never said they had plans today, did they?”**

Frisk shook their head. “Not that I know of.”

 **“huh.”** Sans thought to himself for a moment before his grin returned. **“well, at least i'm sure we have someone _else_ here that can tell us where they went.”**

“Who?” Frisk raised a brow, and they turned around to see that Sans had vanished again. “Sans!?”

 _“Let go LET GO **LET GO!!”**_ a familiar, angry voice was heard behind a bush.

Frisk cautiously took a step forward, flinching when a dummy soared right out of the bush, consumed with blue magic.

 **“LET GO OF ME RIGHT NOW, BONEBAG!”** Mad Dummy screeched, flailing about.

Sans walked out and set him down in front of Frisk. **“here we are.”**

Mad Dummy hopped up furiously, but as soon as he noticed Frisk, he froze in place.

“Oh!” Frisk immediately recognized him and waved. “Hello again!”

Mad Dummy blinked as conflicted emotions crossed his face. After all, he still wasn't entirely sure if he liked Frisk or not. “Um...hi...” he muttered, shaking his head and facing Sans. “What do you want!?”

 **“nice to see you too, 'stitches'.”** Sans smirked, and the dummy snarled at him.

“You know him too, Sans?” Frisk was surprised.

 **“course i do. everyone knows me, remember?”** He winked. **“we didn't really get around to talkin' till we got to surface, though.”**

Mad Dummy narrowed his eyes. “I'll ask again; what do you two want!?”

 **“Frisk needs someone to watch them, so i figured Undyne and Alphys were home.”** Sans glanced back at the house.

“They're out at some sort of anime convention.” The dummy rolled his eyes at their surprised looks. “I'm going to assume they were so enamored with the idea that they completely forgot to inform anyone.”

 **“welp...”** Sans looked down at Frisk. **“that rules out our plan a bit, doesn't it?”**

“Boo-hoo.” Mad Dummy turned around to go back to his business. “Guess it's time for you to leave, then. So _leave_ already.”

“Wait!” Frisk tugged Sans's sleeve.

 **“what is it, kiddo? ya think you wanna hang out with Mad instead?”** he joked.

Frisk eagerly nodded. “Yeah!” They smiled.

Sans actually looked baffled, and Mad Dummy flinched as he whirled around. “Wait... _what?”_

 **“ya sure, kid?”** Sans asked incredulously, and Frisk continued to nod. **“well...”** he chuckled, and Mad Dummy's eyes widened, **“looks like you're the only babysitter available, pal.”**

 _“What!?”_ Mad Dummy's mouth fell wide open, still trying to wrap his head around the idea. “Do I _LOOK_ like a nanny to you!?” he barked.

“I think it'd be fun!” Frisk told him.

Mad Dummy cringed as he looked away. 'Fun' wasn't exactly his forte. “Uhh...” He cleared his throat and shook his head. “If you haven't already noticed, I'm busy! So no thanks. I'm good. Sans can just take the day off, can't he?” He gritted his teeth. He couldn't understand why Frisk even _wanted_ to hang out with him in the first place. After all, he _did_ try to kill them when they both first met.

“Aw...” Frisk looked a bit disappointed, and Sans shook his head.

**“well. that's a shame.”**

Before the dummy could even think about feeling bad, he noticed how Sans's grin began to widen. A hint of blue radiated off the skeleton's left eye-socket, and Mad Dummy paled, deciding it was best to obey his unsaid command. “But! I...um...guess I'm not _that_ occupied or anything...” he growled quietly, eyes on the ground. “I can watch Frisk.”

Sans's eyes returned to normal as he shoved his hands back in his pockets. **“awesome. i'm sure either Tori or my brother will come to pick them up around 4. you'll both be fine, won't ya, Frisk?”**

Frisk nodded excitedly. “Of course!”

Sans ruffled the child's hair. **“i thought so. see ya later, kiddo.”** Frisk smiled and scampered off to say hi to some of Mad Dummy's minions. When they were gone, Sans faced the dummy one last time, noticing his scowl. **“oh, and Mad?”**

Mad Dummy cautiously glanced his way, hiding his annoyance.

 **“if I were you...i'd _patch-up_ that attitude of yours.” ** The dummy paled, and Sans laughed. **“hey, don't look so _unraveled_. be glad that I actually trust you enough with the kid.”**

Mad Dummy shook his head and huffed. “I'm not scared, if that's what you're implying,” he grouched. His visage gradually softened, however. “But...don't worry. I'm not going to hurt them.” His eyes trailed towards the ground.

 **“i knew you had a _soft spot_ in there somewhere.” ** Sans poked him with a wink before heading off. **“see ya.”**

Mad Dummy narrowed his eyes as he left, but didn't respond as he looked back over at Frisk. The child was patting some of his dummies and dummy-bots, who were squeaking with delight. He had to admit; it was actually pretty cute.

“So, what's up? I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you.” Frisk chuckled, and he forced away his smile. “Are you liking the surface?”

“It's pretty nice,” the dummy muttered, not looking at them. “I get to see my cousins more frequently.”

“So, why do you still live in Undyne's yard?” Frisk asked curiously.

Mad Dummy shrugged, still not looking up. “Undyne and I are just pretty good friends, I guess...” He didn't feel like explaining the entire story of how they met, but Frisk nodded nonetheless.

“Cool! But...” The child scratched their head. “If that's true, how come I've never seen you whenever I visit her?”

Mad Dummy stiffened as he kept his mouth shut.

Frisk innocently rocked back and forth on their feet before tapping his head. “You... _do_ know I visit...right?”

He gritted his teeth, answering almost inaudibly.

Frisk blinked, gesturing for him to speak up.

“I hide from you,” Mad Dummy answered louder, turning red in the face.

The child stared at him in disbelief. “You...what?”

“Oh, for the love of—” He finally whipped his head up. “You heard me! Every time you come to visit, I hide from you! I cower behind some tree or bush and just wait for you to leave! Now go ahead and laugh all you want about it! Ha HA _HA!_ Let's all laugh at the despicable, lily-livered, good-for-nothing dummy!”

Frisk frowned as they cocked their head to the side. “...I'm not laughing.”

“WELL, YOU _SHOULD_ BE!” the dummy screamed. Everyone _else_ definitely would.

“Why? There's no reason you should hide from me.” Frisk shrugged. “I'm not mad at you.”

“For crying out loud...it's not _YOU_ I'm concerned about! It's—” Mad Dummy groaned and shook his head. “I hide because I feel _stupid_ , okay!?”

“Why?”

“You've practically made friends with _every single monster_ in the underground! They all know you, care about you, show you their gratitude for helping us all to the surface...” Mad Dummy looked down. “Everyone but _me_ , anyway. Instead of confronting you to say thanks, or even just to say _hi_ , I've been avoiding you. It's not like I'm _not_ grateful—I am! It's just...hard to confront someone knowing that you've falsely accused them and tried to murder them with rockets and stuff...”

Frisk started giggling, causing him to raise a brow.

“What's so funny about that!? I fired _missiles_ at you! I sent a whole bunch of dummies to hit you with their magic attacks! I threw a KNIFE at you! Why are you _laughing!?_ ” He hollered.

“You _do_ realize that pretty much every monster has also tried to hurt me, right?” Frisk snickered. “But they're still my friends. I never once held it against them for it, so of course I'd never do that to you!”

Mad Dummy looked at them in confusion. He couldn't understand how someone could be so willing to dismiss his unnecessary temper tantrums and _still_ want to be friends. “Wait...so you... _forgive_ me? Just like that?”

“Well, yeah!” Frisk smiled. “Why wouldn't I?”

Mad Dummy's face scrunched up as he started muttering gibberish. “Just...wow...” Frisk was just forgiving him so _voluntarily_ that it made him feel even _more_ stupid. “I guess I really _am_ a dummy, aren't I...?”

Frisk laughed and gave him a hug.  “Don't worry about it! We can just pretend it never happened.”

Mad Dummy fidgeted around a bit since he wasn't exactly used to hugs. _(Ugh...)_ However, his scowl gradually began to soften. _(Okay, fine...I suppose lookin' after the kid won't be as bad as I assume...)_


	2. Nice Cream & Movies

While Mad Dummy was absentmindedly sharpening his knife, Frisk was playing cards with his dummies and dummy-bots.

“Nope! Go fish!” Frisk giggled, and a disappointed squeak was heard from a dummy-bot as it grudgingly plucked a card from the pile.

Mad Dummy gave the group a glance, rolling his eyes at how happy his minions seemed to be with the child. He knew they liked Frisk better than him by a long shot, but he honestly couldn't care less.

“Hey, Mad?”

Mad Dummy shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at Frisk. “What?” he mumbled.

“How about we go out and do something?” Frisk suggested with a smile.

Mad Dummy caught himself looking away again. He knew, sooner or later, the kid would be bored, but he had no clue what to do to pass the time. “Any...er...requests?” _(I'm going to regret this, aren't I...?)_

Frisk shrugged, thinking about it. “We could get some nice cream!”

Mad Dummy blinked. “Nice cream...” he repeated, looking at his dummies. They just shrugged, looking as blank as him. “Nice cream?”

Frisk stared at him. “What, you've never had nice cream before?” they asked in surprise.

“I've never even heard of it,” the dummy admitted, turning red once Frisk gasped in shock.

“Really!? It's great! We definitely need to get some now!” They bundled their arms with dummies. “Let's go!”

Mad Dummy sighed and shook his head. “Do they _really_ need to come with us?”

“Well, why not?” Frisk asked innocently, and his dummies gave him puppy-dog eyes.

Not wanting to get into a disagreement with the child, Mad Dummy decided to screw it. “Fine. I guess they can join. Let's just go.”

Frisk nodded happily and walked by his side as he reluctantly hopped down the path to the sidewalk. Mad Dummy never liked hanging around the city, but maybe it would be different with Frisk. After all, the kid was practically friends with everyone, right?

“Mad?” Frisk looked back at the dummy, who had stopped hopping.

“What?” He frowned, then realized he wasn't moving. “Oh. Sorry. I just...don't like going out much,” He muttered, hopping forward again.

“Don't worry, it'll be fun!” Frisk reassured him, and he made a face.

 _(Here we go again. 'Fun'.)_ He shook his head, not even bothering to reply. Although he didn't necessarily have any plans today—or _ever_ , for that matter—he knew he would much rather be moping alone in the yard with his knife.

As they all entered the city and headed down the sidewalk, Frisk happily waved at all the passing monsters. Mad Dummy, on the other hand, ignored everyone and kept his head down.

Frisk curiously glanced the dummy's way and nudged him lightly. “Aren't you going to say hi?”

“I don't necessarily have the best reputation amongst most monsters,” Mad Dummy grumbled, sneaking a glance at his knife. He quickly put it away before Frisk could see it, though. “It's best I don't say anything at all.”

Frisk frowned, but decided not to push him. All the dummies began squirming and bouncing in the child's arms, so Frisk released them. They all bolted towards the nice cream stand that was nearby, and Frisk laughed as they ran after them. Mad Dummy watched with a sigh, but eventually followed.

“Hi, Frisk!” Nice Cream Guy (Frisk still never learned his real name) exclaimed. “I was hoping to see you around soon!” He noticed all the dummies surrounding the cart and chuckled. “I see you brought some friends?”

“Yup!” Frisk turned towards all the dummies. “I think they'll be able to share one nice cream...so what flavor do you guys want?”

The dummies stopped bouncing to think about that. They all huddled up in a sophisticated manner and squeaked amongst themselves, attempting to come up with a decision. Frisk giggled at how cute they looked, and even Mad Dummy let out a muffled snicker. About a minute later, they all nodded and gave one final squeak before facing Frisk. One of the dummy-bots hopped forward, and Frisk lifted it up to the sign full of 21 different flavors. It pointed its head at mint chocolate chip.

“Good choice! Comin' right up!” Nice Cream Guy smiled. He reached inside his cart and pulled one out. “Here ya go!”

“Thanks!” Frisk gave it to the dummies, who promptly tore off the wrapper and dug right in. Frisk laughed and looked back up. “Hm...I'll take a chocolate nice cream, please!”

“Alrighty!” Nice Cream Guy went to get Frisk's order as Frisk turned to face Mad Dummy.

“Hey, Mad?”

Mad Dummy looked at Frisk boredly. “What?”

“What kind of flavor do you want?”

The dummy rolled his eyes and looked down. “...Vanilla, I guess. Doesn't really matter,” he muttered.

Nice Cream Guy grabbed both chocolate and vanilla and handed them to Frisk. “Here you are!”

“How much?” Frisk was about to reach into their pocket, but Nice Cream Guy shook his head.

“Oh, there's really no need! These are on the house. After all, business has been excellent here on the surface, thanks to you!” He smiled brightly. “Have a wonderful day!”

“Thanks!” Frisk waved as everyone headed on their merry way.

Mad Dummy took the wrapper off his nice cream and tried some. His eyes widened at its sweet taste.

“Do you like it?” Frisk asked, noticing his look.

“It's better than I thought,” he admitted in shock. “This is really good!”

Frisk chuckled. “I'm glad you like it!” They suddenly lit up. “Hey, what does your wrapper say?”

“My wrapper...?” Mad Dummy looked at the crumpled paper.

“Yeah! Instead of a joke like most wrappers, it says something nice.”

Mad Dummy narrowed his eyes and straightened out the wrapper before reading it. _“Don't be mad, be glad!_ ” he read. Immediately, he frowned. “Is that guy implying something?” He scowled, turning back with a glare.

Frisk laughed. “I'm sure it's purely coincidental,” they said. “But sometimes it's better to be happy than to be grumpy, don't you think?”

Mad Dummy didn't answer right away, licking his nice cream as he avoided eye-contact.

Frisk gave their own wrapper a look and smiled. _“Don't ever forget: You're amazing!_ ” they read. They felt a tap on their leg and looked down at the dummies. “Oh, you want me to read yours?” Frisk picked up their wrapper. “ _Smile—somebody_ _loves you!_ ” They giggled, and the dummies squeaked happily.

Mad Dummy rolled his eyes as he finished his nice cream. He had to admit, he was almost disappointed that it was all gone. Wondering how much time they had taken up, he turned to Frisk and asked, “Do you know what time it is?” He secretly hoped Frisk wouldn't be offended and think he wanted to get rid of them.

Frisk looked at their phone. “It's 12:23,” they said, and Mad Dummy sighed. It was around 11:30 when Frisk had arrived, so there was still about 3½ hours left before they had to leave. “Is something wrong?”

“I just don't have any idea what to do,” Mad Dummy grumbled. “I'm not exactly someone who goes out and 'hangs' with people.”

“Don't worry—I'm sure we can think of something!” Frisk smiled. “For now, how about we just head back to Undyne's house?”

Mad Dummy nodded indifferently. “Sure.” He tried to hide the relief in his tone since he hated being around a lot of people. His minions looked a bit disappointed, but didn't complain as they scrambled after Frisk.

* * *

 

Once they came back to Undyne's house, all the dummies bundled up behind a bush to take a nap. Frisk peeked through the window of the house. “Hey, do you think we could find something to do inside?”

At this point, Mad Dummy didn't even care anymore; just as long as Frisk wouldn't be bored. “Yeah. Door's probably locked, though.” He fiddled around with a box he pulled out of the bush and took out a key. “Undyne gave me a spare key. Honestly, I'm surprised she trusts me enough not to try anything, but...she knows I like it better out here anyway,” he mumbled as he put the key in the doorknob.

“How long have you and Undyne known each other?” Frisk asked.

He thought for a second. “About 15 years or so. We rarely ever talked until recently, though. I had my reasons.” It was evident he didn't want to explain any further. “Can't say I ever complain about being around her and Alphys. They're pretty cool, I guess.” Mad Dummy opened the door and they both headed inside. “I'll admit, I'm not too familiar with what's in here, but you got any ideas?” He felt kind of stupid for letting Frisk make all the decisions, but it wasn't his fault—he knew absolutely _nothing_ about babysitting.

Frisk glanced over at a shelf that contained several anime DVDs. Almost immediately, they noticed the dummy's cringe. “You don't like anime?” They asked with a light chuckle.

“Eh...I just can't get into it.” He paused, his voice lowering quite a bit. “Don't tell them, but sometimes I peek through the window while they're watching some of those movies. They're just... _strange_ , to say the least.” He shook his head. “I just can't get into TV in general.”

“Oh. So you don't watch Mettaton's shows, either?” Frisk asked.

Mad Dummy shrugged, avoiding eye-contact again. It was a habit; he just wasn't used to talking to people a lot. “I dunno. I've watched him once or twice...” He shook his head. “Eh, it doesn't matter. I see him almost every _day_ now, so why watch him on a screen?” He grumbled.

Frisk could sense in his tone that he and Mettaton didn't get along that well sometimes, so they decided not to ask about the robot anymore. “Hm...” They searched the room a bit and looked through a couple drawers. “Doesn't really look like there's anything to do...” They peeked at a different shelf and found a different movie that didn't look like anime. “Hey, look at this!” Frisk handed the case to the dummy.

Mad Dummy blinked as he looked at the DVD. The case had a few superheroes on it, as well as a bunch of explosions in the background. No doubt, the movie must've belonged to Undyne since they had similar taste in terms of violence. “Hm...doesn't look that bad...” He narrowed his eyes, supposing he could make an exception. “Why not?” He was sure the movie would take an hour or 2, anyway, so that was a good idea to pass time.

“Awesome!” Frisk turned on the TV and popped in the movie. They excitedly hopped onto the couch, whereas Mad Dummy situated himself on the floor. The child looked down at him and raised a brow. “You sure you don't want to sit on the chair or something?”

“I sleep on the ground outside,” he stated blankly. “I think I'm good.”

Frisk sat back with a shrug as the movie started.

During the film, the dummy glanced at Frisk from time to time. Frisk seemed like they were really captivated, and he was slightly happy to see the child wasn't bored or upset by the fact that their 'babysitter' never knew what to do. Mad Dummy didn't want to admit it, but looking after Frisk for the day was actually a bit... _fun_...so far.


	3. Muffet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts of this chapter will refer back to my story "Pastry Pandemonium".

Being one who never got into TV and films, Mad Dummy had to admit that this superhero movie was actually entertaining. Perhaps a bit _too_ entertaining. He was rooting for the villain the entire time, unsurprisingly.

“Y'know one thing I don't understand?” the dummy thought aloud as he munched on the popcorn he and Frisk shared. “Not to insult Undyne or anything, but I don't think a _spear_ is an appropriate weapon for this guy. Now a _knife_...that'd be perfect. Even LOADS of knives! That'd certainly get the job done, wouldn't it? Hahaha...” He chuckled sinisterly.

Frisk took a handful of popcorn. “Eh...that's actually a scepter, not a spear.”

“Pfft. Even so! Knives always get the job done.” Mad Dummy thought about that statement for a moment. “Well, at least more than _one_ knife, that's for sure...” he muttered.

“Actually...I think a trident would better suit this guy. Y'know, like Asgore's trident! After all, he said he wanted to be a king, right?”

“Hm…ya got a point there.”

Mad Dummy continued watching the film, and Frisk tried hard not to laugh at how he gave unintelligible growls and whines whenever the villain was beaten up or mocked. By the time the movie was over, though, the dummy had finally calmed down.

“That was pretty awesome! Did you like it?” Frisk asked.

“Eh...well, at least the bad guy didn't die...but still! If I were him, those heroes would've been disposed of in _no_ time. Just give me tons of knives and I'd do it!” Mad Dummy barked.

“Maybe you should make your own movie sometime,” Frisk giggled.

“Mehhh...too much work.” He shook his head. “The movie was okay, I guess. It was a lot better than I thought it'd be.”

“Great!” Frisk hopped off the couch and looked at the clock. “It's 2:47. I think we got a little over an hour left.”

“Huh.” Mad Dummy blinked, surprised that this was going a lot faster than he thought. He didn't necessarily feel sad for Frisk to be leaving soon, but he didn't feel glad, either. Either way, he felt the need to come up with his own idea on what he and the kid could do, for once. “Eh...hey...y'know...maybe we could stop by Muffet's bakery,” he suggested lowly. “I mean, we don't have to buy anything if you don't want to...then again, I could probably get something there for free, but—”

“Muffet? Free?”  Frisk nearly burst into laughter. “You must not know her too well.”

“Heh...” Mad Dummy turned bright red, staring at the floor.

Frisk raised a brow in suspicion. “Mad...?”

“She...er...sometimes gives _me_ free things, anyway...”

A grin began to creep onto Frisk's face. “Ooh...does she _liiiike_ you?” they snickered.

“Does she—what—” Mad Dummy nearly fell over.

Frisk hopped up and clapped. “I knew it! THAT'S what she was all happy about last time I saw her! You and her are dating, aren't you!?”

“Hey HEY _HEY!_ Stop right there!” Mad Dummy interrupted, maintaining his balance and clearing his throat. “Don't scream it to the world!”

“We're inside the house, though.” Frisk paused. “Wait, so you're admitting you ARE dating!?”

“What!? NO! I mean...” Mad Dummy gritted his teeth and lowered his head. “I…just...it's a work in progress, okay? Our first date had a little...mishap...then we tried again, but it still needs a little work! Can we just drop the subject!?”

“You were the one who brought up Muffet,” Frisk mumbled, and he tried to refrain from blowing up at them.

“OKAY! Okay...okay. You're right. I was just wondering if we could go see her. If...that's okay with you,” he grouched as he glared at the ground.

“Of course, if it makes you happy,” Frisk chuckled. “I haven't seen her in a while. Also, I've heard that the stuff at her bakery was not that cheap, which is why I didn't come often...”

“Oh, it's a lot better now. Trust me,” Mad Dummy remarked as he led the way. It was very unlike him, but Frisk decided to just go with it. “Heh...actually, the prices lowering was _my_ fault, kind of. It's a long story.”

“Really?” Frisk laughed. “It's kind of strange...I never would've expected you two to get along so well, seeing how you both have quite a temper.”

“I guess that's the point. We kind of...um...mellow each other down, y'know?” He smiled, but then he abruptly shook his head. “Don't, er...tell anyone I said that, though.” He hopped a little faster than normal, ignoring everyone who passed by them. Frisk could tell he was forcing his rotten attitude this time, though.

As they approached the bakery, it was actually rather busy. “Wow! I never expected so many people to come here...I bet Muffet is really happy for all the money she's collecting for the spiders,” Frisk said as they both headed inside.

Muffet wasn't seen right away, for most of the employees that were currently working were her little spider friends. Some of them noticed Frisk and waved, and the child waved back.

“Oh, Frisk dearie!~” Muffet hurried out of the back room. “So nice to see you!” She gave the child a hug, nearly crushing them with her six arms.

“We came because Mad wanted to see you,” Frisk giggled once she let go.

“I didn't say that—” Mad Dummy glared at them, then cleared his throat and faced Muffet. “I suggested that we see you since I didn't know what else to do,” he clarified in a mutter.

Muffet blushed. “Excuses, excuses, dearie~” She winked and looked at Frisk again. “Is there anything you would like, dearie? I'll be sure to give you a discount!”

 _(Gee, it sure must be nice to be Frisk,)_ Mad Dummy thought to himself. _(First they get free nice cream, now they're getting a discount here...)_

“Hm...” Frisk tapped their chin, still not too familiar with what was available. “I'll have a look around, first, if that's okay.” They walked away to look at the menu.

“Alright, dearie!” Muffet folded her hands on the counter, directing her attention back at Mad Dummy. “So, what _really_ brings you here?”

"I need your help," Mad Dummy mumbled, eyes on the counter. "I've got about an hour before the kid has to leave, and I've got no idea what to do."

Muffet raised a brow at him, then lit up. "Oh! You're looking after Frisk for the day?" She covered her mouth and giggled. "That's so adorable!~ Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He lowered his head even more. "Well, trust me when I say I wasn't planning on watching _anyone_ today. But...it hasn't been too bad, I suppose." He shrugged.

“Obviously. Otherwise I'm sure you would've showed up a lot sooner,” she laughed.

“Yeah...I just didn't expect the kid to be so... _adamant_ about hanging out with me. After all, I always thought they hated my guts..."

"Frisk would never hate you, dearie! Besides...if they were to hate anyone, they should hate _me_ ; _I'm_ the one who tried to feed them to my pet." Muffet snickered.

Mad Dummy shook his head. "I guess you're right. I just keep feeling that this still doesn't compensate for what I've done, though. I acted really stupid over nothing."

"Pfft! Stop being so negative! Frisk has forgiven you, haven't they?" Muffet patted his back. "Forget about it!"

Mad Dummy sighed. "You're right, you're right...I have no idea why I'm so worried about Frisk holding a personal grudge against me—" He turned around to look at Frisk, only to find that they were no longer at the end of the counter. His eyes widened.

Muffet blinked. "What's wrong?"

"Where's Frisk?"

Muffet gently pushed him aside and looked around the room. "Frisk? Dearie?"

"Frisk!?" Mad Dummy hollered as he stomped around the bakery.

Muffet walked out from behind the counter and frowned. “Frisk!”

"HEY! Any of you seen Frisk!?" Mad Dummy barked at the customers. Some of them looked completely clueless as to who Frisk was, whereas others just glanced around and shrugged. This didn't make the dummy any less irritated. "FRISK!!" he screamed as he continued to storm around.

"Hold on...maybe they went to use the restroom." Muffet calmly headed over to the bathroom located on the other end of the room.

“FRISK, IF THIS IS A JOKE, IT'S NOT FUNNY!” The dummy growled, although he was actually starting to sound quite worried.

Muffet checked the restroom, but the absence of light made it evident that no one was inside. "Oh dear..."

"What, they're not there!?" Mad Dummy yelled, more anxiety creeping up on him. "Where could they have gone!?"

Muffet tried to ease the tension, but she looked quite nervous as well. "Calm down...I'm sure they haven't gone far—"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” He exploded, startling her. “I—just—this is the ONE time I'm responsible for Frisk, and I can't even keep track of them! If anyone finds out—” He shut his mouth, eyes widening to the size of saucers. “SANS.”

“What about him?”

“SANS IS GOING TO **_KILL_ ** ME IF HE FINDS OUT I LOST FRISK!!" Mad Dummy bolted out the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges.

"W-wait! Um..." Muffet cringed, looking over at some of the other spiders. "Watch over for me, will you? This is a bit of an emergency..." She hurried into the back of the cafe and up the stairs to grab something.


	4. Wild Goose Chase

Normally, one would think that the correct response to find a missing child would be to ask anyone if they had seen them.

**_“FRISK!!”_ **

Mad Dummy, on the other hand, took the antisocial route and simply screeched Frisk's name as he shoved past everyone he came across.

**“GOSH DANGIT FRISK I'M GONNA GET FREAKIN' _KILLED!”_**

He forced himself through crowds and darted left and right through alleyways. He started to wish he could stop by Napstablook's place to have help from his cousins, but knew that with them gone, he was hopeless.

Mad Dummy finally stopped to take a breather and leaned against a building, shutting his eyes. _(This is it. People are gonna find Frisk in who knows what kind of state...'Who was watching them?' people will ask...and that's the end of me. Sans won't be the only one wanting to murder me...I'll be dead no matter where I go...)_

He was interrupted from his misery when he felt something sniffing him. “What the heck—?” He opened his eyes.

In front of him seemed to be a large, pink, cupcake-like creature with spider legs. Mad Dummy had never seen anything like it in his life, and he resisted the urge to shriek like a woman. _(Uh...maybe if I don't move, it'll go away...)_ The dummy held his breath and refused to move a muscle.

The cupcake continued to sniff Mad Dummy before it happily licked him across the face like a dog. Mad Dummy stopped holding his breath and vigorously shook his head. “Hey HEY _HEY!_ KNOCK IT OFF!”

“Cupcake!? Oh!” Muffet scampered over to them and embraced the cupcake. “There you are! Looks like you found him!” Cupcake stopped licking Mad Dummy and nuzzled against her.

Mad Dummy shook all the slobber off him. “What...on earth...is _THAT_ THING!?”

“Oh, this is Cupcake!” Muffet giggled. “I completely forgot you've never met. He had been staying with one of my friends for a while, but now he's officially back with me. Aren't you, my little sweetie?~” She kissed Cupcake, who promptly bounced up and down with glee. “But back to the point—I brought him here to hopefully track down Frisk. After all, he was able to track _you_ down with ease,” she laughed.

“Ugh...this is gonna take forever to wash off...” Mad Dummy grouched as he looked at himself, but he definitely wasn't going to complain about finding Frisk. “Wait, how are you going to find Frisk's scent, though?”

Muffet's smile vanished. “Well...” She cleared her throat as she pulled out something from her pocket. It looked like a small part of Frisk's sweater. “I found this back on the sidewalk.”

Mad Dummy almost turned white at the sight of it. _(Oh gosh...what if Frisk really is in trouble? What if they got attacked by someone!?)_ He paused with a frown. _(Wait...who the heck would attack Frisk!?)_ The kid was an absolute sweetheart; they'd never hurt a fly!

Mad Dummy wielded a death grip on his knife. “If anyone hurts Frisk, somebody's going to _die_ tonight.”

Muffet was surprised by his protectiveness, but nodded in agreement. “Alright, Cupcake,” she let her pet sniff the cloth before hopping on his back, “Let's go find Frisk! Hop on, Mad!”

“Wait—what?” He whirled around and shook his head. “Whoa whoa whoa—you're talking to someone who doesn't have limbs, woman!”

“I'll hold onto you. Just get on!”

Mad Dummy blinked, feeling extremely awkward. “Um...we could split up. Let's split up.”

Muffet rolled her eyes and yanked him up by his waist, setting him in front of her. “Quit whining! Let's go!”

Cupcake started running forward, and Mad Dummy would've screamed if it weren't for Muffet holding onto him. He shut his eyes and started taking deep breaths, trying desperately not to lose his marbles.

“Come on—I thought you'd be all for exhilaration and adventure!” Muffet laughed.

“No NO _NO!”_ The dummy screeched. “I'm not sure where you heard THAT, but fast-moving vehicles aren't exactly my thing—” Just then, Cupcake dashed onto the street and right through oncoming traffic. “AGH! I'm gonna die I'M GONNA DIE **_I'M GONNA DIE!!”_**

Muffet patted Cupcake on the head and steered him through the road before he dove back onto the sidewalk. “There. We're all good!” She turned to face Mad Dummy. “You okay?” she asked him, noticing his drastic change in complexion.

“I…I think I'm going to be sick, honestly,” he answered hoarsely.

“Just hold on a couple more seconds,” she chuckled, patting his back.

“In case you haven’t already noticed, I CAN’T HOLD ON IF I DON’T HAVE LIMBS!” Mad Dummy screamed. He was starting to wonder if all this chaos was worth finding Frisk, but after much deliberation, he felt it was definitely worth _not_ getting killed by Sans.

Cupcake came to a sudden halt, and Muffet eyed the area around them. “Hm? Did you find something, sweetie?”

Cupcake sniffed the ground for a moment, and Mad Dummy breathed a deep sigh of relief. However, he was almost flung back as soon as the cupcake-spider darted forward all over again.

“Ohh…” Mad Dummy groaned, losing all hope. “I’m dead DEAD _DEAD!_ This is it! I’m done for! I’ll never find Frisk, and everyone’s gonna hate me even more than they already do!” He leaned against Muffet. “Just throw me off. Put me out of my misery!”

“You’re a ghost, Mad. Do I really have to remind you that?” She rolled her eyes. “Just calm down, drama king. Cupcake has found something for _real_ this time.”

Cupcake started to slow down once he approached a large tree. Standing under the tree was Monster Kid, who was anxiously staring at a small kitten that was stuck on one of the tall branches.

“AGH! Are you _SERIOUS?”_ Mad Dummy lost balance once Muffet released him, and he plummeted onto the grass. “WRRRFFF FRRRKK!?”

“Pardon?” Muffet blinked at him.

He lifted his head and spit out a mouthful of dirt. “WHERE’S FRISK!?” he hollered, on the verge of a full-out rampage.

“Frisk? Yo! Frisk went to get someone to help me get my cat!” Monster Kid piped up.

Mad Dummy gaped at him. “Say what now?”

“YO!” Monster Kid ran over to Cupcake in amazement. “He looks so cool! What’s his name?” He patted Cupcake on the head as Cupcake wagged his nonexistent tail.

Muffet giggled, both at Monster Kid’s enthusiasm and Mad Dummy’s insanity. “His name is Cupcake.”

“Awesome!”

“Okay, can we get serious for a moment!?” Mad Dummy exclaimed, and they faced him. “If Frisk is gone, when are they coming back!?”

“Oh, anytime now, probably,” Monster Kid shrugged. “I think they said they were heading over to Undyne’s place! I really wanted to come along too since I wanted to see where she lived, but someone’s gotta stay here with Cookie.”

“Cookie?” Muffet looked up at the black-spotted, white cat that was clinging to a branch. “That’s her name? How cute!~”

Mad Dummy turned around and started hopping away, taking out his knife.

“Whoa, wait, what are you doing?” Muffet frowned.

“What does it _look_ like I’m doing? I’m finding Frisk, darn it! I’m supposed to be watching them, and that’s what I’m gonna do!”

“Why do you need to take out your knife?” Muffet kept her voice low so nobody could hear.

“You’d be amazed by how many creeps you can find up here. Even _I_ need to defend myself,” he stated obviously.

_“I GOT THEM!”_

Mad Dummy perked up at the voice, and he soon spotted a familiar child in a pink-striped blue sweater. In their arms were all his dummies and dummy-bots.

“Okay, there’s Cookie. Go get her!” Frisk smiled as all the dummies proceeded to fly up to the tree. “There we—GAAH!”

Mad Dummy dropped his knife as he tackled the child. **“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH TODAY, KID!?”**

It took Frisk a moment before they realized Mad Dummy was giving them his equivalent of a _hug._ “I…I was going to come right back,” they sputtered, astonished by this gesture.

“Why didn't you tell me where you were going!? I was RIGHT THERE, and you just LEFT!” he screamed. He didn't want to sound too rude, but he had never been more petrified in his life, what with potential murderous skeletons and giant cupcake-spiders...

“You looked so happy with Muffet,” Frisk remarked with a grin. “I just didn't want to interrupt you guys!”

Mad Dummy opened his mouth to yell again, but he couldn't bring himself to retaliate. This kid was too innocent for their own good. He cleared his throat as he glanced over at Muffet, who giggled and covered her mouth with her hands. “Should I even _try_ to argue with that?” he discreetly muttered before shaking his head. “Just, still—don’t SCARE me like that, Frisk! I thought you got hurt or something! Heck, I thought Sans was going to _murder_ me!”

Frisk laughed. “Nah, Sans wouldn't do that—especially if I'm not hurt! I'm sorry I scared you.”

Mad Dummy felt no need to ask what would happen if Frisk _was_ hurt, but it didn't matter; they were obviously safe and sound. Finally taking notice of his gesture in front of everyone, he scrambled up and cleared his throat again. “I’m glad you’re not dead, kid.”

“I’m glad you care,” Frisk laughed. “I guess this is partially my fault, though—I just saw that my friend needed help with his cat, so I decided to help him by going back to Undyne’s place to get the dummies. You’re right; I should’ve told you, though…”

“No, no, forget it. Everyone’s fine, nobody’s hurt…well, except for the fact that I’m still nauseous from all that exhilaration…” He shook his head irritably, complexion wavering.

“I suppose our work here is done?” Muffet smirked, patting Cupcake’s head again.

“Heh…” Mad Dummy purposely looked away. “Um…thanks for the help. Even if it did almost get me killed.”

“It’s no problem, dearie~” Muffet kissed his cheek and headed off. “Goodbye!”

Mad Dummy shifted bright red as Frisk waved goodbye. The dummies handed Monster Kid his cat, and he hugged her tightly. “Man, I really owe you one, Frisk. Thanks!”

“It’s no problem. I’m always happy to help!” Frisk waved as their friend scampered alongside their cat, not before tripping and falling flat on his face, of course.

“See ya, dude!”

Frisk laughed and turned to face Mad Dummy. “You good?”

“Y-Yeah…I think so.” His blush vanished and he sighed. “I’m…definitely taking a long nap later today…”

Frisk looked at their watch. “It’s 3:27.”

Mad Dummy stared at them. “Wait, are you serious?” What seemed like _hours_ to him before he found Frisk only took him a half-hour. Then again, fear always had a way of messing up his sense of time. “So, I guess we have time to do one more thing, then?”

“Only if you want to. You could just take a nap if you want,” Frisk told him.

“OHHH no no no.” He chuckled dryly. “After today, I am NOT letting you out of my sight again!”

Frisk laughed. “Okay. Do you know what we could do, then?”

Mad Dummy glanced up in thought. “Well…” He frowned, thinking his idea was stupid, but it might just work. “I guess I have an idea. Follow me.” He started hopping forward, and Frisk curiously followed behind him.


	5. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A more serious chapter to make up for all the shenanigans I put the characters through. XD

For about five minutes, Frisk and Mad Dummy did nothing but walk (or hop) towards the end of town. Frisk could hear the dummy sigh in relief, and the child glanced his way curiously.

Mad Dummy peered back at them from his peripheral vision. “Somethin’ up?”

Frisk promptly faced forward with an indifferent shrug. “Nah.” They figured they could ask their question later.

The two soon approached the woods that were near Undyne’s house, but Mad Dummy took a different turn.

“Where are we going?” asked Frisk, not familiar with this route.

“You’ll see,” the dummy murmured.

The two continued walking for a moment before they reached the end of the woods and in front of a large, empty meadow. The tall, lush grass, complete with numerous bright-colored flowers brought a peaceful atmosphere that overwhelmed them both.

Frisk gaped at the view in awe. “I thought you didn’t like to get out much,” they stated as they and Mad Dummy approached a hill.

“I don’t. Not when there’s people around.” He sat at the top of the hill and laid down.

Frisk joined him and laid on their back, looking up at the sky. “This is incredible!”

“Undyne told me about it. It helps clear my mind a bit,” Mad Dummy sighed. “Most of the time, anyway…”

The two stared in silence for a couple minutes, and Frisk felt content that the uptight dummy was actually quite peaceful for once. It was quite funny, actually. If someone had told Frisk that Mad Dummy would be their babysitter at some point in time, Frisk would’ve thought they were crazy. Then again, being the ambassador for monsters was clearly crazy enough. Frisk was sure that nothing else could quite surprise them anymore.

Frisk yawned as they stretched their arms for a bit. Remembering their question from earlier, they thought now was the right to ask since Mad Dummy seemed to be a lot calmer. “Hey, Mad?”

Mad Dummy opened his eyes. “Hm?”

“How come you don’t like people?”

His body tensed, and he purposely turned his head away. “Isn’t it obvious? I don’t have the best reputation,” he mumbled.

“I see that, but…you act like everyone is really mean or something.” Frisk sat up and looked at him. “I can see it in your eyes whenever we’re in the city.”

Was it really that obvious? Mad Dummy began to feel really self-conscious, and he wished he could bury himself in the grass.

“I understand how uncomfortable it may seem at first, but everyone can be really nice once you get to know them!” Frisk smiled.

Mad Dummy gave a dry chuckle. “Well, not _all_ monsters are exactly ‘nice’, Frisk. Just look at _me_ for example.”

“But then I got to know you,” Frisk giggled. “And now I know how nice you really _can_ be!”

Mad Dummy became even quieter. “That’s because you’re…different,” he mumbled, looking back at the sky. He was inwardly hoping the kid would just drop the subject.

There was a bit of silence between the two before Frisk glanced back at their babysitter. “Y’know…maybe if you just gave some people a chance, they might not be as bad as you think they are.”

Mad Dummy’s eyes screwed shut, and he started to tremble. He could feel his temper rising, but he desperately tried to hold it back for Frisk’s sake. “Chance,” he repeated, almost as if trying out the word for the first time. “Ha. Ha ha! _Chance?_ ” He started laughing, and pretty soon, he doubled over with tears in his eyes.

Frisk blinked at him. They were about to open their mouth to speak when he viciously cut them off.

“CHANCE?” His voice rose to a shout. **_“CHANCE!?”_**

Frisk flinched as he leapt up with a ferocious snarl, crimson with rage.

“I already **GAVE** those bozos a chance!” He roared. “But **_what_** did they do? They mocked me. They played stupid pranks, told stupid rumors, taunted me and harassed me to no end…all they did was walk all over me like I was some freakin’ doormat! Every time I set foot outside, I had to constantly watch my back for any of those imbeciles!”

Frisk could see the brokenness in his eyes, and it tore them apart. They began to regret asking their question in the first place, knowing that it obviously brought back painful memories.

Mad Dummy got up in Frisk’s face. “You wanna know why I hate people? **WELL _THAT’S_ WHY!” **

Frisk noticed how close he was to the edge of hill. “M-Mad—” They stepped forward to calm him down, but in the midst of Mad Dummy’s rage, he stumbled over his “foot” and proceeded to roll down the hill.

 **“#*%#$!! CURSE MY LACK OF LIMBS!!”** he swore as he was hurled down at an intense speed. Luckily, they both were still in an empty field, so he eventually came to a stop as he face-planted onto the soft grass.

Frisk desperately tried not to laugh, thinking that rolling down the hill would actually be lots of fun. However, they figured now wasn’t the time to mimic him. “Mad!” The child ran down the hill and over to his limp body, which was covered in dirt and grass stains. “Are you alright?” They tried to help him up.

 **“DON’T TOUCH ME!”** he barked, and Frisk recoiled with wide eyes. Immediately, he felt guilty and became quiet after that. He placed himself back together and maintained his balance, staring at the ground. “S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It’s…a habit.”

“It’s okay.” Frisk smiled, and he shut his eyes with a groan. He really didn’t deserve all this kindness. “I’m sorry I made you upset…I should’ve minded my own business.”

“No—I’m sure you were bound to figure out everything about me sooner or later. After all, Mettaton has a habit of not keeping his mouth shut.” He chuckled sourly. “As you can see, my life as a ghost wasn’t the best. That’s why I left to get a body in the first place…why I can’t trust people nowadays…why I refused to talk to Undyne for nearly 15 years before we actually became friends…the list goes on.”

“I’m…really sorry, Mad.” Frisk reluctantly reached out to give him a hug. When seeing how he didn’t seem to care this time, they wrapped their arms around him. They could feel his anger slowly melt away.

Once Mad Dummy finally pulled away, he lowered his head. “In all honesty, Frisk…that’s the reason I attacked you that day at the dump. I thought you made fun of Napstablook, insulted him...or scared him off…” He shook his head with a small laugh. “But I was wrong. I guess I just tend to forget how timid he can be, no matter what.”

“Yeah...” Frisk giggled a little.

Mad Dummy looked back up at the sky for a few seconds, and an awkward silence passed between the two. “H-Hey, Frisk,” he cleared his throat, “could you do me a favor…?”

“I won’t tell anyone what you told me, if that’s what you’re asking,” Frisk assured him.

He looked relieved. “Thanks...” he mumbled. “Cuz, y’know, you’re…pretty much one of the only people I _can_ trust.”

Frisk patted him on the back. “Don’t worry, Mad! I’m sure you’ll be able to warm up to other people eventually! Those sorts of things just take time, is all.”

Mad Dummy snorted in disbelief, but decided not to argue. He sighed as he glanced down at himself. “Gosh…this just ain’t my day. First I was covered in slobber from that Cupcake whatchamacallit, now I’ve got mud and grass stains all over me...this just sucks.”

Frisk laughed as they wiped off some of dirt on him. “You’ll be fine.” They took a look at their phone. “Oh! Looks like it’s about time to head back to Undyne’s.”

“Wait, it’s almost 4?” Mad Dummy looked surprised, but there was also a hint of disappointment on his face.

“Yup. Sans texted me and said Papyrus will be on his way soon.”

“Alright.” Mad Dummy nodded, almost solemnly. “Let’s get going, then.” He started hopping back into the woods, and Frisk followed.

“So…” Frisk began after a minute or so, “Did you really mean what you said back there? You really do trust me?” they asked.

Mad Dummy seemed to narrow his eyes. “What, you think I _shouldn’t?”_

Frisk shook their head. “No! No, you should. I just didn’t expect you to say something like that…heh.”

Mad Dummy looked forward again. “Well, you’ve earned it after today, kid. Don’t make me regret my decision,” he muttered, continuing forth.

Frisk smiled. “I won’t.”


	6. Departure

“So, what would you say was your favorite part of today?” Frisk asked with a giggle once they and Mad Dummy approached the yard of Alphys and Undyne’s house.

“Hm…that nice cream was pretty darn good,” Mad Dummy shrugged. “You’re gonna have to get me some for free more often.”

Frisk laughed. “Sure thing!” They plopped down in the middle of the steps by the door.

Mad Dummy hopped over to his normal area in the yard and shut his eyes, feeling pretty exhausted. He wasn’t quite sure why, seeing how they both just got done relaxing on that hill.

“Hey Mad,” Frisk spoke up, and the dummy opened his eyes. “Did you have fun?”

Mad Dummy let that word flow through his head for a bit. Although his idea of ‘fun’ was drastically different than the average person, he had to admit that he enjoyed his time with the kid. “Yeah…I did.” He smirked.

“That’s good.” Frisk smiled. “I did, too.”

Mad Dummy couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “Good. All this time I was wondering if I was even doing this whole ‘babysitting’ thing correctly.” He chuckled.

Frisk was about to respond, but the sound of screeching tires caught their attention first.

Mad Dummy’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he caught a red sports car barreling its way into the driveway. “Look out LOOK OUT _**LOOK OUT!”**_ He threw himself in front of Frisk, but luckily, the car came to an abrupt halt, just inches away from the two of them.

To the dummy’s surprise (and horror), Frisk wasn’t even fazed. “Papyrus!” They ran over to the driver’s seat.

“FRISK!” Papyrus opened the door and gave them a hug. “I DID IT! I GOT MY DRIVER’S LICENSE! NOW I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN DRIVE YOU TO SCHOOL!”

“Great!” Frisk giggled. Mad Dummy, on the other hand, was still trying to get over the fact that Frisk didn’t seem to realize _they almost got hit by a freaking car._

“Ohh… ** _kill me…”_** a voice moaned.

Frisk glanced at the passenger seat and saw Flowey. “Hi Flowey!” They picked up the flower pot and gave him a hug, too.

Flowey was too disoriented to wriggle away. “Frisk, if you _really_ care about me, you will **_never_** put me in the same car as that buffoon again!” he hissed, and Frisk laughed.

Papyrus looked over at Mad Dummy. “OH, HELLO MR. DUMMY! THANK YOU FOR TAKING GOOD CARE OF FRISK WHILE EVERYONE WAS BUSY!”

Mad Dummy shook himself out of his daze and mumbled, “Yeah…it’s no problem.”

Frisk walked over to them with Flowey in their arms. “We had a lot of fun! We got nice cream, watched a movie, got to see Muffet, and more!” The child beamed.

“THAT IS GREAT TO HEAR!” Papyrus clapped. “I’M GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD TIME!”

The entire time they chatted, Flowey did nothing but stare at Mad Dummy. Strangely enough, there was something so familiar about him. However, Mad Dummy didn’t seem to notice the flower’s presence until he spoke up. “Hold on a minute.” Flowey narrowed his eyes. “ _You_ were Frisk’s babysitter?” He bit his lip, trying not to burst into laughter.

Mad Dummy gaped at Flowey, having to do a double-take. “The flower _talks?”_ he muttered. He shook his head, finding himself unable to form a logical response. “...I’m just gonna assume I hit my head a little too hard against the ground when I fell off that cupcake…”

Flowey inwardly snickered. “I'm a talking flower, you're a talking dummy. You gonna answer the question or what?” he sneered.

Mad Dummy faced him and rolled his eyes. “ _Touché._ Yes, I was Frisk’s babysitter.”

“Huh.” Flowey continued to eye him a for a second. Finally, he would snap his fingers if he had any. “Aha. I remember where I saw you now! I saw you on one of my re...” He caught himself about to say 'resets', but stopped himself. “Um... _recent_...one of my _recent..._ strolls through Waterfall.”

Before Mad Dummy could ask how a flower can 'stroll', Frisk quickly stepped in to avoid any other slip-ups. “Ahem—Mad, this is Flowey!”

“Howdy!” Flowey grinned unnervingly, and Mad Dummy raised a brow.

“Hello, creepy talking flower.” He turned around, muttering something about needing to see a doctor.

Flowey shook his head, laughing to himself. Frisk glanced down at him curiously, but he only rolled his eyes and said he’d explain later.

“WELL, I DO BELIEVE IT IS TIME TO RETURN HOME NOW!” Papyrus announced, walking to his car.

“Ugh…not again…please…” Flowey moaned, but Frisk placed him in the passenger seat and assured him that they’d hold onto him tightly.

Papyrus looked up when hearing something, and soon, a completely different car pulled into the driveway, much to everyone’s surprise. “HM? WHO ELSE WOULD BE VISITING UNDYNE?” He questioned curiously.

Frisk recognized the car and giggled. “That _is_ Undyne, silly!”

Undyne and Alphys got out of the car, staring at everyone in the yard. “Hey! What’s going on here? You punks aren’t trying to break into our house or somethin’, huh?” Undyne frowned.

“OF COURSE NOT, UNDYNE! I WAS JUST PICKING UP FRISK!” Papyrus declared.

“What do you mean?” Alphys asked, confused. “Nobody’s been home all d-day…”

“Oh, Mad was babysitting me!” Frisk smiled, pointing at the dummy, who had turned bright red.

“Wait wait wait…hold on…” Undyne chuckled as she stepped over to him. “Mr. Grouchypants here agreed to _babysit_ you?”

“Shut up!” Mad Dummy hissed. “I wouldn’t have done it if _you_ hadn’t just drove off without telling everyone where you were going!”

Undyne opened her mouth to yell something back, but instead she frowned and turned to Alphys. “Alphys, did I tell you to call Toriel this morning?”

“No…I-I thought you called her yourself,” Alphys answered.

“Dang it,” Undyne frowned, facing Mad Dummy again. “Point taken,” she muttered.

“Well,” Mad Dummy sighed, glancing at Frisk. “…We had fun, I suppose. So I’ll let it slide for now.”

Undyne smirked at him before she turned to Papyrus. “Could you do me a favor and apologize to Toriel? I swear, I thought one of us called her this morning!”

“DO NOT WORRY, UNDYNE!” Papyrus told her. “FRISK IS SAFE AND SOUND!”

“I had an awesome time here with Mad!” Frisk nodded, and Mad Dummy shrunk even further back, trying to hide his redness.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool, isn’t he?” Undyne chuckled and glanced his way. “I’ll have to thank him for helping out so much. But in the meantime, let’s unload the car, Al.”

“O-Okay!” Alphys opened the trunk of their car, which was loaded with several items from the anime convention they had gone to.

“LET’S GO, HUMAN!” Papyrus got into his car. “I’M SURE TORIEL IS WAITING FOR US!”

“Bye, Mad! Thanks for everything!” Frisk waved goodbye to the dummy.

Mad Dummy looked over at Frisk with a small smile. “Bye, Frisk…you’re welcome.” He was startled when the bush behind him shook rapidly, and all his dummies and dummy-bots swarmed out to give Frisk a goodbye hug.

Frisk hugged all of Mad Dummy’s minions, then got into the car and placed Flowey on their lap. “Say bye, Flowey!”

“Nah. I’ll see him again.” Flowey smirked, and Frisk shrugged.

“GOODBYE, MR. DUMMY AND DUMMY FRIENDS!” Papyrus exclaimed as the car backed out of the driveway.

Mad Dummy sighed as he watched everyone leave, then turned to face his minions, who were on the ground crying. “Oh, man up,” he growled at them, heading back behind the bush. However, he soon found himself holding back a couple tears as well. _(I’m actually gonna miss that kid…)_

“Hey, punk!”

Mad Dummy immediately shook away his tears, looking up at Undyne.

Undyne grinned as she crossed her arms. “Thanks for watching over Frisk. It’s funny…don’t you normally hide from them whenever they show up here?”

Mad Dummy stared at the ground with a scowl. “Sans was the one who practically threatened me to babysit them.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he did.”

The dummy raised a brow. “What, are you implying that _you’d_ do something to me if I refused?”

Undyne laughed out loud. “Need I remind you that you live on _my_ territory?” She leaned down, her expression shifting darkly. “Ghost or not, I have my methods.” With that, she walked away to go help Alphys.

Mad Dummy stiffened as he watched her. Despite knowing her for 15 years, there were still times where she intimidated him quite a bit.

* * *

 

The ride back home mainly consisted of Papyrus telling the tale of how he finally got his license. It wasn’t that his story wasn’t interesting, but Frisk was still quite curious as to how Flowey knew Mad Dummy before.

“I already told you, Frisk…I used my power to ‘help’ everyone at first, remember?” He rolled his eyes. “That dummy was one of them.” He paused, then started chuckling. “I had to admit, that guy was one of the very few who didn’t bore me right away.”

“…THEN THE TEACHER WAS SO IMPRESSED BY MY BRAKING SKILLS, HE CHOKED ON HIS DRINK! BUT OF COURSE, WHO _WOULDN’T_ BE SPEECHLESS BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS? NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus continued, completely oblivious to the ongoing conversation at his side.

Flowey paused to roll his eyes at the skeleton. “How that idiotic teacher let him have a license is beyond me.”

“Still, you gotta admit—Papyrus is more intelligent than everyone makes him out to be.” Frisk smiled. “Hey Papyrus, what score did you get on your written test?”

“TEST? OH YES! I GOT AN A+! ALTHOUGH I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY LETTERS ARE SO IMPORTANT, THE TEACHER WAS VERY PROUD OF ME!” Papyrus beamed.

Frisk mimicked his gesture at Flowey. “Told ya.”

Flowey growled and wiggled around. “Yeah yeah whatever! Ya gonna let me finish or what!?”

“Okay, sheesh.”

Flowey cleared his throat. “Anyway, that dummy and I…we actually got along quite well when I…y’know…became more despondent…” He shook his head. “He amused me quite a bit, what with his temper and all. Why do you think I was so surprised _he_ watched over you?”

“Well, he’s not bad; he just has a few anger-issues he needs to sort out. It’s not his fault,” Frisk shrugged.

Flowey frowned, head slumped. “Darn. I thought that guy had at least _some_ potential.”

Frisk looked confused. “What?”

“What?” Flowey repeated innocently, raising his head.

Frisk narrowed their eyes at the flower, who stared right back at them with a straight face. “Flowey…”

“Oh come on—I’m just kidding! Besides, it’s not like I’d be able to coax that dummy to do anything, anyway. Thanks to _you_ , he’s probably all ‘soft’ now…”

“Being soft isn’t a bad thing, Flowey.” Frisk held the flower pot in their arms as they leaned their head against the door. “I mean, sure…” they yawned, “…sometimes you gotta harden a bit to defend yourself or others, but kindness can really go a long way.” They shut their eyes. “I wouldn’t be up here if that wasn’t true.”

 ** _You_** _wouldn’t be up here if that wasn’t true_ , a voice spoke in Flowey’s mind. Flowey glared at the dashboard while Frisk slept, mind wandering as he blocked out Papyrus’s incessant yammering.

“Whatever, Frisk.”


End file.
